Customer loyalty

I’d just like to say how much I admire CD Projekt RED for the stand they’ve taken against games as a service and the nice little dig against Star Wars: Battlefront II. It is greed, just like they say, and they’re the ultimate example of how you can make tons of money, make a great game, and keep the fans happy. So happy that they’ll insta-buy your next game even if it’s something completely different.

I much prefer a fantasy setting to sci-fi but I’ll be pre-ordering Cyberpunk 2077 the second I get a chance, just to show my support. Surely that’s worth far more to companies than tricking people into microtransactions and loot boxes and everything? I mean, who would you say is your most trusted games company? I’m willing to bet it’s not anyway that deals in microtransactions to any big degree.

We’ve all seen the amount of money EA and Activision are making from microtransactions but I’ve got to wonder if that’s sustainable. Not only are people not going to spend that sort of money on every game but at some point the novelty is surely going to wear off. I can see how it can be addictive for FIFA but adding similar set-ups to things like Need For Speed clearly hasn’t worked and it should’ve been known it wouldn’t. Sometimes you have to wonder just how much these companies really understand about their own business.Cavere

The only thing that matters

Hilarious to find out EA has also had to think microtransaction in Need For Speed Payback as well. I know other publishers are often as bad but it’s always EA leading the way in terms of scummy business practices. And they never learn either. They get in trouble for something, try to win people over with good games for a year or two, and then invent some new scam to upset everyone with.

Here’s an idea geniuses: why not just try making good games all the time? That seems a pretty simple business concept to me. You make good games, we buy good games, we enjoy them and fell more inclined to trust you on the next one too.

Amazing how few companies seem to follow this simple principle. Like the reader said about Rockstar, they’ve built up a trust with gamers that is not now easily broken. Or what about Nintendo? They’ve made so many mistakes over the years but people always give them a second chance. You know why? Because they make good games. At the end of the day nothing else matters, and EA should remember that.Instamash

Licence revoked

Just incredible what a disaster Star Wars: Battlefront II has been for EA. I feel genuinely proud of my fellow gamers for not buying into it, and for those websites that campaigned against it and loot boxes in general. This has gone far better/worse (depending on whether you’re an EA exec or not) than I could possibly have imagined and will surely have repercussions for the whole industry for years to come.

I mean… getting a phone call from Disney is like getting called to the headmaster’s office. I don’t know how long EA have got the Star Wars licence for but considering this and the disaster with Visceral something tells me they won’t be keeping it afterwards. And that’s assuming Disney don’t try to get out of the deal sooner.

Which makes me wonder who else could get it instead. It must be super expensive, and assuming Disney don’t want to give it to a console owner like Sony, I think that means only Activision, Ubisoft, or maybe Square Enix at a stretch? Activision has proven to be pretty bad at film licences in the past, and I’m not a Ubisoft fan so my choice would be Square. They already have quite a few connections with Disney too, with Kingdom Hearts and the Avengers licence.Doshin

GC: EA has the licence for 10 years, so they’ve got about six years left to go.

Awards season

Nice to see Zelda winning the Golden Joystick Awards. I get the feeling PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is going to win a lot of award events in America but I don’t see how that even qualifies considering it’s not finished yet.

But another award win I saw for Nintendo is the Time Gadget of the Year. I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard of the award before but Time are obviously pretty big and they also have the Mini Classic SNES at number six. Considering that means it’s beaten the iPhone X and all other smartphones and tablets I think that gives an idea of just how well regarded the Switch is now.

Such a turnaround for Nintendo, you have to be impressed. Almost as quick as the hell turn performed by EA. These companies sure know how to keep things interesting for us, even beyond just the games!Nibiru

Just why

That Rampage movie trailer was one of the strangest things I have ever seen, and I don’t think I’m even exaggerating. I mean… what? Who is this for? Who cares about Rampage nowadays? Who even cared about it at the time? Why have they changed the set-up and why are the monsters so small they look like they could be taken out by a single tank or plane?

Why are they taking it so seriously? And… just… Rampage? Why?!

I’d love to be a fly on the wall where someone pitched the idea to The Rock and they said, ‘This is a 31 year old game that was never really that big a deal and nobody’s bothered to even update since the PS1 era. It’s about people turning into giant monsters, but we thought we’d take that bit out and make them mutated animals because we wouldn’t want the story to be unbelievable or anything’.

Mind you, this is the same guy that thought the Doom movie was a good idea, so maybe he’s got a blind spot when it comes to video game movies.Stimpson

GC: Actually, there was a PlayStation 2 game as well. It wasn’t very good.

Modified expectations

Yes, Skyrim hasn’t done terribly but I have it on Xbox 360 and then Xbox One because of mods. Why should I buy it on Switch as well (that doesn’t even have mods!)?

My point is make third party Switch games creative enough to tempt gamers to buy these alternative versions. It’s either they never expected Switch to be that successful or (from my POV) publishers and their executives art so stupid they can’t see the woods from the trees. Charging full price for the same experience
isn’t enough.Ste C

GC: Well, technically it’s only the lack of mods that stops it from being the same experience.

Cheap buys

RE: Big Steve looking for Wii game recommendations. Here’s a few us and the kids have enjoyed, some are still in play: Lego Star Wars, New Super Mario Bros., Big Brain Academy, de Blob 1 and 2, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Batman: Brave And The bold, and most of the other Lego games.

Loads of Wii games can be bought very cheaply either in used store sections or eBay.half_empty80 (PSN ID/NN ID)

Switching to Switch

For anyone looking for some extra good news to go on top of their EA punch-in-the-face sandwich it looks like Valkyria Chronicles is finally getting a proper sequel. It’s called Valkyria Chronicles 4 and looks just like the first game, which is great.

Who knows why we’ve had to wait this long for it but better late than ever and all that, eh? It’s coming to Switch as well, which is a good sign for those worried that the console isn’t going to pick up any more third party support.

I think when it comes to Western games that’s probably true but hopefully this is the start of some major Japanese support. The console has been outselling the PlayStation 4 all year in Japan (and America come to that) and I think it’s pretty obvious it’s the natural successor to 3DS as well as Nintendo home consoles, so it’s going to be the number one format for Japanese publishers to support.

Hopefully this won’t be the only new announcement this year, let alone next.Onibee

Inbox also-rans

Brütal Legend is free on PC on Humble Bundle for 48 hours from Monday 20th November evening. I completed it on the Xbox 360 a few years ago it was very good.Andrew J.

Did no one read EA’s response? Nothing has changed yet, it’s only been delayed. Now everyone think thinks they have won something.bigdaddy watt

GC: They’ve won a delay? And EA would be suicidal to just put microtransaction back in exactly as they were.

This week’s Hot Topic

The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was inspired by reader billystanley71, who asks what’s the most difficult story-based decision you’ve ever had to make in a game?

Games like The Walking Dead and Mass Effect popularised moral decision-making in games and now they can be found in all sorts of different titles, from Life Is Strange to Wolfenstein. But which have you found to be the toughest and why? Did you stick with your decision or go back and try and change it?

Do the decisions you make in games generally follow your real-life sense of morality, or do you play a character – perhaps one that is the opposite to your real self? What’s been the most significant consequences of a decision, and how did you feel when you realised what you’d done?